Australians admitted to hospitals from Covid-19 neared record levels as authorities urged businesses to let staff work from home and recommended people wear masks indoors and get booster shots urgently amid a major coronavirus outbreak.
Australia is in the grip of a third Omicron wave driven by the highly transmissible new subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, with more than 300,000 cases recorded over the past seven days.
Authorities say the actual numbers could be double that total, and today's 53,850 new cases was the highest daily tally in two months.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is resisting pressure to reinstate tough curbs to halt the spread of the virus, including making masks mandatory indoors, though he encouraged people to wear them.
"The truth is that if you have mandates, you've got to enforce them," Mr Albanese told reporters.
"Whilst there are mandates on public transport ... not everyone is wearing a mask."
Mr Albanese said businesses and employees must decide together on any work-from-home arrangement, as unions called for employers to do more for their staff.
Employers must go beyond the government's pandemic leave payments and provide paid leave at full pay for workers who need to isolate, and offer free rapid antigen tests, Australian Council of Trade Unions President Michele O'Neil said.
"No worker should have to decide between putting food on the table or isolating with Covid," Ms O'Neil said.
Last week, Australia reinstated support payments for casual workers who have to quarantine.
Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly predicted the number of people ending up in hospital will soon hit a record high, and urged businesses to let more staff work from home.
Australia could see "millions" of new cases over the coming weeks, authorities have warned.
About 5,350 Australians are currently in hospital with Covid-19, not far off the record 5,390 recorded in January during the BA.1 outbreak, official data showed.
Numbers in the states of Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia are already at their highest since the pandemic began.
Many frontline health workers are also sick or in isolation, further straining the health system.
Australian doctors said masks must be made mandatory in indoor venues.
"We don't have optional seat belts, we don't have optional speed limits. There's a lot of limits on our freedoms that we accept because it's the right thing to do," Australian Medical Association President Omar Khorshid told radio station 2GB.
Authorities have also warned of a lag in people taking theirbooster shots.
So far, 95% of people above 16 have had two doses, helping keep Australia's total Covid-19 cases just under 9 million and deaths at 10,884, far lower than many countries. But only about71% have received three or more doses.
Micronesia loses Covid-free status after outbreak confirmed
The tiny Pacific state of Micronesia has lost its status as one of the few Covid-free countries, after confirming community cases on two islands.
Apart from a few isolated border cases in managed quarantine, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) had remained free of the coronavirus due to its location around 1,600km north of Papua New Guinea.
That was until two students tested positive after arriving on the island of Kosrae from Pohnpei, the Micronesian capital island, earlier this week.
Local health officials then confirmed ten more positive results among 11 family members of the two initial cases.
A statement from the office of President David Panuelo said Micronesia faces "a rapidly evolving situation" while confirming dozens of extra cases on both Kosrae and Pohnpei.
The local health authority has discouraged public gatherings and advised the use of face masks at all times, but said "all public services will remain open".
Subsequent testing has also shown that 25 of 28 patients with flu-like symptoms at a hospital on Kosrae tested positive for Covid.
As a result, the Micronesian island of Yap announced that the passengers and crew of a local ship had been isolated immediately after arriving.
The spread of the coronavirus across Micronesia means the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu are believed to be the last two Pacific nations that are currently Covid-free.
Micronesia plans to lift border restrictions from 1 August, but visitors will need to show proof of full vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test to enter.
In making that announcement last May, President Panuelo said he hoped opening up would encourage the country's 100,000 residents, spread across more than 600 islands, to maximise their vaccination coverage.
